Thank you, friends
I would like to publicly and profusely thank my dear friends, Sara Porter and Margaret Donnelly,for recently helping me achieve a very big bucket-list goal. On Saturday, Feb. 3 at 6:15am (after a brief lightning delay), I lined up to run the 2024 Rocky Raccoon 100 Endurance TrailRace in Huntsville State Park, Texas. Five laps, 100 miles and almost 32-hours later, I crossed the finish line; with just over six minutes to spare.
I would never have made it without these two amazing human beings. I signed up for this particular 100-mile race because the website described it “as the perfect race for rookie ultra-runners wanting a good setup to accomplish their goal.” Unfortunately, this description does not take in to account what happens when it pours down rain the night before and reduces the trail to mud, standing water, more mud, more standing water and even more mud.
One-hundred miles would have been grueling no matter what. But the trail conditions made it that much harder. And yet, there were Sara and Margaret every time I came in for a lap. You know you have really good friends when they fly to Texas for the weekend just to wash and dry your wet, muddy shoes repeatedly, spend 10-hours in the middle of the night coaxing and dragging your tired, grumpy, emotional self along and hike 20 miles perfectly timing out the speed you need to maintain to finish — while simultaneously coordinating your return trip home so you don’t miss your flight.
I am so grateful for these incredible friends of mine. Sara and Margaret, thank you both for helping me realize this insane goal. I am so happy I got to share the finish line with you.
Jessi Rochel
Carbondale
Unparalleled praise
Brian Colley’s take on Picasso’s anti-war masterpiece, “Guernica,” is tremendous; especially as the horrors take place in the Middle East and Ukraine. The taking of power and hate plague us always.
Patrick Hunter
Carbondale
Wrong place, wrong time
I recently learned of a proposed development at the Spring Valley Ranch, located to the northwest of Spring Valley’s Colorado Mountain College campus, and adjacent to Elk Springs. The proposed development was approved in 2007 and is currently seeking to amend the proposal through a process that will incorporate public comment, which can be submitted to Garfield County online or in-person during regular commissioner meetings (the first three Mondays of each month). This proposal is slated to include 577 homes, an 18 and 9-hole golf course and, drum roll please, a private ski resort. The developers claim to be good stewards of the land, which is laughable at best and contrary to just about every published wildlife study regarding development impacts on wildlife. Private golf courses and ski resorts might be fine habitat for second-home owners but not for our endemic wildlife species. As a hunter and wildlife enthusiast, I’d be shocked to hear from any wildlife professional that any portion of this development is compatible with good wildlife habitat.
Maybe this seemed like a remotely good idea for the area in 2007, but it’s 2024 and this Valley doesn’t need more exclusive million dollar homes and private golf courses to drain our rivers and strain rural infrastructure. We don’t need more second-home owners and out of state developers profiting off of the destruction of these open spaces and the displacement of hundreds of elk, deer and other species — further harming our struggling local wildlife populations.
Consider contacting the Garfield County Commission with your thoughts and concerns at www.garfield-county.com/administration/email/
Sam Feuerborn
Glenwood Springs
RE: GWS ceasefire resolution
We are writing on behalf of the Jewish community on Colorado’s Western Slope to express our profound disappointment with Glenwood Springs City Council’s recent decision to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Our dismay stems not from the desire for peace, which we share, but from the manner in which this resolution was adopted — without consultation or consideration of the Jewish community’s perspective.
The conflict in Israel is deeply complex, with historical and emotional layers that cannot be neatly untangled. Israel, like any other nations, has the right to defend itself against violence. Hamas is widely recognized as a terrorist organization, committed to the destruction of Israel. Any demand for ceasefire, while understandable, must not equate the actions of a democratic state defending its citizens with those of a terrorist group.
The lack of engagement with the Jewish community prior to passing this resolution is particularly troubling. Such decisions, which directly impact our community and relate to an issue so close to our hearts, should not be made in a vacuum. The Jewish community, with its deep ties to Israel and its nuanced understanding of the conflict, could have provided valuable insights, ensuring a more informed and balanced approach. Instead, the council bent to the pressure of a group of activists who showed up with no prior notice and without considering how this resolution could create a permission structure for more harm against our community in the skyrocketing rise of antisemitic incidents Jewish Coloradans have experienced since Oct. 7.
We urge the City Council to reconsider its approach to international conflicts in the future. Engaging with all affected communities, seeking diverse viewpoints and striving for a comprehensive understanding of complex issues should be prerequisites for such actions. By doing so, we can foster a community that truly reflects the values of respect, dialogue and inclusivity.
Rabbi Shira Stutman, Aspen Jewish Congregation
Rabbi Mendel Mintz, Executive Director, Aspen Jewish Community Center
Rabbi Kolby Morris-Dahary, Har Mishpacha: Jewish Congregation of Steamboat Springs
Rabbi Joel Newman, B’nai Vail
Cantor Michelle Cohn Levy, B’nail Vail
USFS protest
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has begun a massive redevelopment project on their Main Street property in Carbondale. This after three plus years of deceitful actions taken to minimize and disregard public input. In November 2019, USFS deceitfully bypassed the need for adequate public input by using a Categorical Exclusion of “Repair and Maintenance” reserved for minor projects, such as painting and roofing contracts. Clearly, this classification is not appropriate for a $6.3 million site redevelopment in the heart of downtown Carbondale.
In letters submitted to Colorado Congressional representatives, USFS believes this was “the appropriate level of analysis” and falsely claimed “our staff has spent significant time coordinating with the Town of Carbondale about the project since 2019.” Carbondale Trustees (BOT) submitted a letter to USFS, stating agency plans are “a rushed process” with “a lack of formal comment period.” The BOT endorses a need “to incorporate more public comments” to pursue a “mutually beneficial collaboration.”
Demolition of some of the existing buildings has begun. Efforts must be made to expose the deceitful actions USFS has conducted to bypass and disregard public input. Once public awareness is raised, USFS will have a choice. It can continue efforts to defend its lack of transparency and justify its disregard of the concerns of the local community. It also has the choice to place redevelopment plans on hold and adhere to its intention for people to “see our agency[‘s] core values of service, conservation, interdependence, diversity and safety come through in how we work with each other and our communities, tribes and partners.” We must unite and have our voices heard to save the integrity of our beloved community for generations to come.
Please join us on March 3 at 11:30am at the Fourth Street Plaza at Main Street in Carbondale.
Jim Coddington III
MainStreet Alliance
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